There are so many things that are being taught as if they are Christian truths.
I believe the entire Bible, Old and New Testaments, but I realize that some parts of the Bible are not intended for the Christian life, such as sacrificial laws and dietary laws. Those kinds of Old Testament truths are related to Christian understanding, but the New Testament family of God (Christians, The Church) lives under a different set of house rules than the Old Testament family of God (Israel).
The Old is the shadow, and the New is the Substance.
The New is in the Old concealed, and the Old is in the New revealed.
The Old is the Prophetic, the New is the Fulfillment.
The nations of Israel and Judah are not to be confused with The Church. As God said in John,
John 1:17
17 For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.
And as God said in Hebrews,
Hebrews 1:1-2
1 God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets,
2 Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;
Hebrews 10:4-10
4 For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins.
5 Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me:
6 In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast had no pleasure.
7 Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God.
8 Above when he said, Sacrifice and offering and burnt offerings and offering for sin thou wouldest not, neither hadst pleasure therein; which are offered by the law;
9 Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second.
10 By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
God instituted Human Government after the flood, as a step toward controlling civil conduct. During the Old Testament God gave laws concerning His earthly Kingdom (Israel, Judah). In the New Testament God does not have an earthly Kingdom, though He does have a spiritual Kingdom on earth (The Church, Christians). Both of these Kingdoms were intended to be subject to the rule of God.
God has given various kinds of laws, such as Sacrificial Laws, Dietary Laws, Ritual Laws, Civil Laws and Moral Laws. Old Testament believers (Israel and Judah) followed different Civil Laws than New Testament believers (Christians, The Church). The New Testament believers are not obligated to follow Sacrificial or Dietary or Ritualistic Laws. All believers are expected and enabled to follow God's Moral Laws, outwardly and inwardly (in the flesh and in the spirit).
God's directives in the Old Testament for Civil and Governmental order are not the same as His directives in the New Testament, because His Old Testament Kingdom was political, geographical, temporal and physical as well as spiritual, but His New Testament Kingdom is not temporal, material or localized, though it is spiritual.
God's rule is not suspended in the New Testament, though it does address issues differently.
Submission to God's rule was and is expected in the Old and New Testament. In the New Testament we are told that the people who love God will keep His commandments. We are not saved because we keep His commandments, we keep His commandments because we are saved. Obedience to God's will is not the way to salvation, but it is the way of salvation. Obedience for the believer is not simply an "ought to," it is a "want to" response to God's rule, because we love Him.
The Scripture is filled with God's directives, some of which are unchanging. When God gives a command, He expects faithful obedience.
God calls us to live righteously, and He enables us to live righteously. Do not be deceived by those who say that Christians are not obligated to obey, or that Christians are not held accountable for their deeds done in the flesh (this earthly life).
God does not command sin. God does not commend sin. God does not condone sin. God always condemns sin.
In the New Testament, God gives Civil Government to the State, not to The Church. Human Government (Civil Government) is for the purpose of protecting the righteous (the law abiding) and punishing the wicked (the criminal). The State wields the sword of steel, protecting its citizens from evil people (domestic and foreign). God has not given The Church the sword of steel. We are not allowed to enforce Civil Order by personally or violently forcing people into submission.
God does not command Christian violence. God does not commend Christian violence. God does not condone Christian violence. God condemns Christian violence.
Refusing to act violently does not mean that Christians are sympathetic to evil or soft on crime or cowardly or enemies of the State or society. Refusing to act violently is simply submitting to God's rule and order, and we do it by love and faith.
Everyone is subject to the rule of God (the commands of God), including the State.
Christians wield the sword of the Spirit, fighting not against flesh and blood (physical enemies), but against spiritual entities. The weapons of our warfare are not physical, but spiritual.
Christians support Government when it does its God ordained job of protecting and punishing. We do not support lawlessness in the Government. "Government," that resists the rule (the power) of God is not legitimate. All people (including Governments and Government leaders) are subject (answerable) to the power (the rule) of God.
Romans 13:1-5
1 Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.
2 Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation.
3 For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same:
4 For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil.
5 Wherefore ye must needs be subject, not only for wrath, but also for conscience sake.
Part of the Christian message is instructing believers in their relationship with society and Government. We wield great power in the world, but it is not the arm of flesh or horses and chariots.
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